Two backcourt picks erased a 5-point lead late and earned VCU the Colonial's auto-bid, leaving George Mason to be a headline team in the NIT. VCU's Eric Maynor was the hero, making the steals and scoring 9 points in the final 2 minutes. Absolutely clutch.

But it was a hell of a rousing way to spend the Monday night of Championship Week, that nebulous moment between the end of the big-conference regular season and the big-conference tournaments.

It is the end of the epilogue for George Mason, whose Cinderella story that began a year ago on Selection Sunday turned them into a college hoops icon – a team you can't help but tune in (and root) for.

More Madness: Gonzaga tops Santa Clara for West Coast Conference auto-bid. This is precisely the kind of "down" year for the Zags where they will surprise someone in the first weekend. Meanwhile, Niagara earns MAAC bid over Siena.

NCAA Uniforms Madness: No, seriously: Madness. What the hell is this? I'm all for radical experiments, but – really – on the eve of the NCAA Tournament? Is this a joke?

(OK, who remembers -- god, this must have been 15 years ago or more -- when NC State used similarly tight, form-fitting uniforms? It looked like they were in the Tour de France. The look lasted one game, I believe.)

Thanks to UniWatch's Paul Lukas for sending me this link to NC State's old "unitard" unis. Or is that "uni-'tard"... here's the link. Shorts went over the one-piece uniform.

Artest Arrest: He's off the Kings indefinitely, but it looks like his troubles are a lot worse than that after his arrest yesterday. This might be The Big One for Ron-Ron. (But, to look at the bright side, he's a shoo-in for a starting spot for the Cellblock D All-Stars.)

Dwyane Wade wants to come back, rather than have season-ending surgery. He obviously feels like the risk of aggravating his injury into something much worse is less than the potential reward of returning and leading the Heat to a conference title in the mediocre East. His call, but it's not what I would do. (I also just released him from my fantasy roster, where he was my anchor star, picking up Willie Green from the waiver wire. But, no, I'm not bitter or anything.)

NFL Free Agency: RB Travis Henry's fantasy stock just shot up, after he signed with the Broncos as a free agent. In their system, he should be good for consistent 100-yard games and an improvement in TDs. (It's so awesome that the biggest subplot of this signing that everyone seems to want to talk about is its fantasy implications.)

NFL Trade: Jets get RB Thomas Jones and a 2nd-rounder from the Bears for a higher 2nd-round draft pick. Jones gives the Jets an instant starter at RB, which they presumably think is better than the RB they would get in the early second-round of the draft (or via free agency). For the Bears, this means the running game is entirely in the hands of Ced Benson.

MLB: Prior sucks in return. 3 ER in less than 2 IP means that the Cubs are either glad they picked up Lilly as insurance or sad their rotation isn't what they thought it would be.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is Boston's Jon Lester, who returned to the mound after battling cancer that was caught late last season. He had chemo as recently as a few months ago. Comeback to track.

More NBA: Someday, LeBron vs. Yao might be a perennial Finals matchup (don't bet on it). Last night, it was an intriguing matchup. LeBron went over 30 for the 4th straight game and Yao returned from injury, and even at half speed, had 16 and 11 (with 2 blocks). The Cavs won the game. With a healthy Yao, the Rockets are an intriguing X-factor in the West playoffs.

NHL: "Kansas City Penguins?" Get used to it. It looks like the Pens are going to relocate over stadium issues. "K.C. Pens" has sort of a ring to it, doesn't it?

Beckham Update: Out for only a month. MLS breathes a sigh of relief, then continues printing up Galaxy jerseys with his name on it.

Ron Borges, Suspended Two Months for Plagiarism. When the story makes the AP wire, you're done. Borges was banned from writing for two months (without pay... and without being able to go on TV); it makes you wonder how he himself would cover an athlete given a similar type of suspension for a similar type of "cheating" infraction.

(At the very least, Borges should be kicked off the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee immediately, an idea inspired by an insider's tip to ProFootballTalk. In PFHOF terms, Borges has become the Alex Karras of journalism.)

Meanwhile, kudos to the AP for citing them, but even bigger kudos to the stout-hearted geniuses at ColdHardFootballFacts.com for helping to bust this story wide open. Here's a phenomenal "24"-style recap.

I'm totally intrigued by the "notes exchange" that is apparently at the heart of the scandal. The exchange is where writers share tips and info and are allowed to pull liberally from it.

Is trolling a glorified message board what passes for the crackerjack "reporting" that mainstream sports media is always proclaiming it's so good at?

Seriously: A notes exchange might have been useful as recently as 10 years ago, but what self-respecting reporter or columnist can't use the... um... INTERNET to quite easily do his own research?

Don't forget: Catch me and your other favorite NYC-based bloggers reading at the Varsity Letters Reading Series event tomorrow night! Click here for an interview I did with the series hosts at Gelf Magazine.

Do you have kids? Do you think you're going to have kids? Are you simply curious about the future generations of sports fandom? I'm quietly ramping up my new Varsity Dad blog, but readers on this blog get a sneak preview until I'm ready for a real launch.

As an NC State graduate and avid basketball fan, I very certainly do remember the awful unitards worn by the State basketball team. I believe it was 1989, but I could be off by a year or so. That was a rather bizarre season if I recall. We had the unitard game. We had another game at Georgia Tech where snow prevented the team from arriving until right at or even after tip-off time, so we had no warm-up at all and players dressed on the bus. That was also the year we should've gone to the Elite-8, but possibly the worst call in the history of college basketball in our game against Georgetown lost the game for us. (And I had Final Four tickets that year!) Rodney Monroe, Chris Corcianni, Chucky Brown... that was a great team. Back when Duke was just an afterthought in the ACC. Ah... memories....

Prior hasn't pitched in a Cactus League game in over 2 years. Give the guy a break. Of course he's gonna suck. All he was throwing were four seamers, too. Once he adds his breaking and off speed stuff, he'll be just fine. Maybe not the way he was in '03, but he'll give the Cubs 10-12 wins.

Interesting story to track over the season: Josh Hamilton. Don't know if he'll make the Reds roster, but he's been hitting the ball well in pre-season. It'd be a feel-good story if he can make it to the bigs (and stay out of trouble).

Is Mark "the Messiah" Prior done in Chicago? Who knows but I'm sick of hearing about his potential. Time to put up or shut up.

Big D, I have to disagree. TJ was a middle of the pack RB who is slower than Benson and can't break tackles. If he can stay healthy Benson will be a monster. The Chicago D is still good and after his first full season in the league (in which he lead the Bears to the Superbowl) Grossman will get better. Plus the NFC is still pretty weak.

Prior does need to put up or shut up. But I think he just wants to pitch and he'll be good enough to get 10-12 wins. He definately won't get the 18 he got in '03. But he'll be OK. Certainly a serviceable 5th starter.

TJ is wildly underrated. Big D is right. The Bears will not get very far next year. TJ was not only good, but he was the leader on that offense. He did a heck of a lot more than just run the ball. I think the Jets can easily go deep this year now that they have him. They just needed someone consistant last year. TJ will give them that. I see them going to the AFC Championship easily.

The NFC has to look out for the 49ers. Their downfall last year was the secondary, and they've signed Nate Clements and Michael Lewis to help there. They've added Aubrayo Franklin for help on the d-line, and they've added Ashley Lelie to help in the receiving core. They will be a playoff team next year because no one in their division has done anything to improve.

It is too bad Borges can not go on TV or Radio. It would of been interesting tomorrow afternoon when he made his regular appreance on the Felger Show to see if he answered the charges. I must say though Borges will not be missed.

Jets made a good deal but they did well without a running back last year the key to there offense is keeping Pennington healthy which having a better running game should help

"As always AEG is saying nothing for public consumption, but remains involved and confident. The MAIN positive is that Ron Burkle, the Penguins majority owner, is AEG's minority partner in the KC Sprint Center, and put up the $54 million cash AEG was obligated to provide, while KC taxpayers provided $222.6 million. So, if the Sprint Center remains empty, Burkle loses money on his $54 million investment. Pretty strong reason for him to move HIS team to HIS arena, wouldn't you think?

More interestingly, Tim Leiweke is AEG's President, as well as Chairman of the NHL Expansion & Relocation Committee, which is required to approve any franchise moves. How likely is Tim to approve a Penguins move to anywhere BUT KC?

Lastly, Tim's brother Tod Leiweke, was JUST appointed CEO of the Portland Trailblazers NBA team. Given their Arena issues in Portland, Tim thinks there is a "good" chance he can get a little "family help" and move the Trailblazers to KC as well. With both an NHL and NBA team, the Arena will be a HUGE success. Supposedly, the Blazers have an "out" in their lease, after the 2007-2008 season, so good timing."

The Chargers won't be that good next year. Remember who their coach is. Norv Turner will run that team into the ground. He's a great offensive coordinator and a terrible head coach. The Patriots really haven't addressed the biggest problem they have. They need better wide receivers. Also, Corey Dillon may be getting old, but he helped that team a lot and losing him will hurt. The Colts will probably be pretty good next year, but they've got that defending championship thing over their heads. Remember how that worked for the Steelers?

As much as the Pens leaving Pittsburgh would be upsetting, it would be relief as a Magic fan. While the city/county/Magic/hotel owners argue over the tourist tax and spending it on the new arena (Make the tourists pay!), KC could swoop right in and grab the Magic for the right offer.

My cousin lives in Kansas City and told me there were rumors about the Clippers. The Trailblazers make sense as well...that would be too bad for Portland in general...likely sour their chances for an MLB team.

The entire article about the potential Penguins move is a great read. Both sides have legitimate points...but I'd be wary of a Kansas City move. Kansas City needs an NBA team. An NHL team flopped there in the 70s (thank god, because that's why I have my Devils!) and there's no assurance it won't happen again.

@ dan mega: I have to agree with Andy that TJ was underrated as a runner. He was in a bad situation in Arizona, as are all offensive players. Tampa Bay was semi-rebuilding after winning the Super Bowl for his one year there, so he never got a shot to blossom until he got to Chicago. H's been pretty solid since.

However, Rex Grossman was wildly overrated in college, and although I will give you the injury factor, at some point a player is no longer "unlucky", he is "fragile". Rex finally had one injury-free season, and he nearly got benched by year's end (and probably should have in the Super Bowl).

@ brian in oxford: Serisouly - don't try to apply logic to the NHL. Why would they move a franchise to a city that actually appreciates hockey and lives and dies by the sport? Why not move it to middle America and keep the stellar track record of expansion/relocation/shafting the country that invented the sport?

Andy did you forget the Patriots still have Maroney who will be there number one back and then Faulk and the recently signed Morris. As well as Welker helps them on Special Teams and will fill the Troy Brown slot receiver role when he retires. And the possiblity that the patriots will trade for Randy Moss, or Sign Stallworth who is visiting today and the will probably draft a receiver. And if the Patriots have proven anything it is that Brady does not need great receiver he just need one that are good enough to work in there system and get open.

Plus the Patriots had the #2 defense in points scored last year and they just made there defense better by getting Thomas

Living out here in KC, I'd much rather have an NHL team than an NBA team. Now for full disclosure I'm originally from outside of Boston. KC is a football town. To many, the Royals don't exist after April 15th (by that time they're already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs). The NBA failed here before, I believe it was the Kings(??). There was a minor league hockey team here that did really well until the owner saw the league was about to collapse and so he folded the team before the league folder.

The whole reason for wanting a team is because they are building the brand new Sprint center in downtown KC (about 3 blocks from where I work) and have nothing to put there except an Arena team.

To finish the thought above before I got sidetracked. I prefer hockey over the NBA. Part of that is KC is 30 minutes from Lawrence and KU. So college basketball is king around here. I think people will be turned off by the different play style of the NBA vs college. Only thing that might attract good crowds after the intial rush of having a new team would be if there were some former Jayhawks or Mizzou Tigers on the team.

Having two boys, the Varsity Dad piece was interesting regarding you reading the sports section to your kids. Nobody in my family followed sports except for me growing up. My father actually became a big baseball fan but that is another story. I love watching sports but my kids could really care less. My little guy who will be 12 in a couple of weeks plays in the local CYO league. He got named to the all star team and scored 10 of his team's points in a 30-16 win last game. However I really can't get him to watch more than 10 minutes of any basketball game unless he is at the game and basketball is his favorite sport.

My big guy who will be 16 in June runs on the X-country and track teams at his high school. He will ask some questions during a game I am watching just to have some ideas what other kids are talking about and then leave.

Kids have their own personalities. They are not little clones of their parents. You can expose them to things you are interested in but it is up to them what they want to do. I am more concerned that they keep themselves in shape and play sports than just watch them.

One of my bicycling buddies has two daughters and his older one is fairly overweight. He says he never says anything to her and my wife thinks that is the right thing. I think for health reasons if nothing else he should suggest that she exercise more reguarly. Again, my buddy is in great shape but that didn't seem to rub off on his child. We can only influence them so much.

Wes Welker is not that good. To think he will excel is to think I would. Come on. The Raiders are not going to give up Randy Moss. With him, they have a legitimate deep threat. The problem is they haven't had a QB to get him the ball. The Raiders love JaMarcus Russell and will draft him to pair him with Moss. Moss just isn't going anywhere. Stallworth would help but he wants more money than the Patriots are willing to pay. Also, at some point, the nobodies that play WR for the Patriots will realize that they are nobodies and will play like it. If I were Brady, I'd be pissed that my team isn't doing anything to get me help.

Rex really didn't play that well in the NFC championship either. Let's be honest, he had that one TD to Berrian that was under thrown and Berrian made a great adjustment. Rex Grossman sucks! If Griese isn't the starter next year, I'll be surprised...

Andy, I am not saying that Wes Welker is a #1 receiver but he will fit perfectly for the role the PAts will want to him to play and that return kicks and punts and play the slot in three receiver sets. They are not bringing him in to be a #1 nor are they paying him like one.

Artest got arrested?! Wow, I never thought such a stand-up citizen who doesn't have a violent bone in his body would ever be arrested for domestic violence! I'm shocked nobody has mentioned this more here!

Anyway, unless the Pens move to Boston, I will still have to watch them from afar.

@Andy

Prior was throwing nothing, but off-speed pitches. I heard that he couldn't get above 82 on the radar.

@cmfost

Simmons is currently too busy working on his next Boston Celtics column to be interested in Borges.

Artest needs some serious psychological help. Clearly there just is something wrong with the dude upstairs (I know, not saying anything new or anything). But seriously, it's kind of sad to see it when people that talented just can't function in society, you know? Prison, if he gets it, definitely won't help him.

Ok about the pens the fact that they're this close to moving is horrible. The state of Pennsylvania's 6 other professional teams (Pirates, Steelers, Sixers, Eagles, Flyers, Phillies) all got new places to play in the past 10 years. They play in the oldest arena in the league and they fill it to 96% capacity. The tv rating are in the top three in the league (percent wise not shear volume of viewers). This is not a case of lack of support and never has been. The people in the city and area loves this team and Pittsburgh is a Hockey town. The politicians in the city, county, and state need to get the deal done. Mario has been trying for years to get a new place to play and if it wasn't for him the team would have moved out of bankruptcy. The bottom line is that this team belongs in Pittsburgh

Actually, the most scary thing about Prior pitching yesterday is that he *ONLY threw fastballs, and still didn't top 82 on the gun. The speculation is that he wasn't using a good leg drive and follow-through to "finish" his pitches, which caused the decreased velocity and no movement. He should be able to throw harder in his next appearance, as he is hitting the high 80s on the gun in bullpen sessions. It might have something to do with facing live hitting for the first time in so long. But if his arm is strong enough to throw his curveball and change-up, he can still win 15 games throwing 83-85 because his offspeed stuff is so good.

The Bears seriously downgraded at RB, which will only put more pressure on Grossman, who will fail miserably. Didn't the Bears learn anything from the 2-back system that seems to be so in vogue in the NFL right now? Other than killing all of our fantasy teams, the 2-back system appears to work for almost everyone. And Benson isn't good enough to carry the load by himself, no matter what he and his agent think.

How is Dudley winning ACC Player of the Year a surprise? He was the favorite for most of the year. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Thornton, but BC had the better year, and Dudley had better stats than Hansbrough.

BC still overachieved a lot in the course of the year. And no player carried his team like Jared did for awhile. Plus he was 2nd in scoring (only because Thornton dropped 45 in the final game against Miami), 1st in rebounding, and 1st in minutes played.

Considering the main two candidates were Jared and Thornton, BC finished the year better overall, and that's why he won.

From the look of this list though, now that I think about it a little more, Al Thorton should win.

There are only a couple guys who are the lone guy on their team (Thornton, Visser, Dowdell). Dowdell's team is the best, but Thornton is the best individual. If we aren't taking into account the team, I say Thornton.

NFL free agent signings are interesting, but I think some people are getting a little carried away.

I think the Bears losing TJ is a big deal, but I think the loss of Rivera and an unhappy Lance Briggs might be just as important given the way the defense was falling apart at the end of the season. However, given the fact that the Bears play in the worst division in football, I fully expect to see them back in the p'offs (They basically start the season with six wins as far as I'm concerned).

I think its great for the Jets to get TJ (also a great trade for them), but I don't think it immediately makes them a legit candidate to go DEEP in the p'offs. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a whole lot of people who still wouldn't be taking the Pats in that division.

How many teams that "make a splash" in free agency actually produce the following year? What the 49ers are doing is admirable (commitment to win, etc.) but I don't think they are going to be this year's Saints.

Getting Joey Porter is only a big deal because he makes a lot of noise. Nobody actually believes that there going anywhere (especially not on this blog with nothing but Pats fans and people who think the Jets are going all the way)

I'm much more interested in the teams that are making quality signings, tweaky with their team, and setting things up for a quality draft.

Most nights I lie in my bed and wonder why I’m such a failure in life. Granted, having a carney for a Dad and a failed hooker for a Mom isn’t a good start, but I can’t blame why I suck on that. Maybe it’s the fact that I pick my nose and eat it, or maybe because I’ve tasted my own #3 just to see what its like - and is it wrong that I enjoyed it? I don’t think so.

My life up to this point has been a total malfunction, I’m not worthy of Earth. I’m too scared to try and kill myself because I’m afraid I’ll screw that up too. If I didn’t have this blog I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. Daniel gives me a reason to live, he makes me feel warm inside, and the tingling I get in my loins after reading the.best.blog.ever. is beyond words. I pray that one day I will become a Varsity Dad like Daniel, but my chances aren’t looking good. Hopefully the laws will change soon and my “union” will become a legal marriage. I don’t even want to think about the adoption process right with my partner.

I know some of you regulars out there are in the same boat as me. I offer my ass up to anyone who wants it, I keep it clean and it smells like oranges.

Brian in Oxford – The woman in your pic is very shrew like, maybe it’s not a bad thing, but I’m sure you have some pent up sexual energy, please feel free to use my ass.

CMFost, aka cumfast, I know you have a problem blowing your load too quickly, but don’t worry, you can pound me multiple times, So stick it in there, blow your wad, and come back when you are ready again. I'll be here.

Big D - I've never had someone as ugly as you. I'd love to have your ugliness in my ass.

And that one chick who's face looks like a rotting pumpkin, I'm sure you're packing heat so pound away.

Finally, Daniel, I know that some other guy plows your wife non stop, but you can take your frustrations out on my ass.

Daniel, thank you for all your hard work. You are a paragon of virtue in the crazy world that I call my life. Pray for me, I still hear the lambs.

Apparently Dice-K pitched well out of a jam after giving up a ground rule double in the 2nd inning. But that being said, he got out of the jam by getting outs from the 8th and 9th hitters from the Marlins spring training team, so take it for what it's worth.

But he did get Hanley out twice, which is pretty solid.

It sounds like his control is already pretty good. It'll be amazing to see if he really has command and control of 5+ pitches. Can't think of another pitcher who I've seen with that. A younger Mussina seems like the closest comparison.

For those of you who heard the rumors about Barry Zito and Hilary Duff, you'll be interested to know that Zito was just on Dan Patrick and Dan asked him about it.

Zito basically said that they "ran in to eachother" and have "hung out a couple times" but then when Dan asked exactly what he meant Zito dodged the question like the skinny kid playing dodgeball in gym class all the way in the back.

Dan then proceeded to in the next segment, when Zito was no longer on, to make a joke about how Zito "pitched around" his question, or at the very least "unintentionally intentionally walked" his question like many pitchers do to Zito's new teammate Barry Bonds.

Heck, If anything, the Dems should be happy to have a primetime showing on Fox. Everyone knows CNN is the Clinton News Network, and MSNBC is pretty far left, so if the Dems can get even a few Republicans to change their minds after seeing them on Fox, then they have accomplished something.

For a sports fan perspective -- Say all Yankees fans hate the Red Sox. But one day, Yanks fans show up at the Stadium, and the Red Sox are playing a home game. After watching the game, seeing Dice-K strike out 15 and Manny hit 3 home runs, a couple Yankees fans start liking the Red Sox, or at least 1 Sox player (probably Dice-K). If the Red Sox can convince at least 20% of the Yankees fans in the Stadium to like 1 Red Sox player, that will make a huge difference come the "World Series".

I dunno, CNN got pretty sensationalistic/reactive in the post 9/11 era, especially when Fox started getting better ratings. Also I don't see MSNBC being liberal at all. The problem people have with Fox is that they tried to claim they were "Fair and Balanced". If they'd have admitted from the start they were a conservative news channel, I don't think people would get as upset about it.

Did anyone see Ben & Jerry on Colbert the other night? That was awesome.

MSNBC is more balanced then you think. The only person you can consider on there line up that is far left is KO. And his show is followed by Joe Scarborough who used to be a republican Congressman. Of all the channels I would say MSNBC is the most balanced.

I've been at games against Reddick and Duke and I was at the game where ESPN said that they couldn't come back to College Park for games because of the chants that were all anti-Reddick that caused them to be fined millions by the FCC.

You could try to look them up. There was one everytime he had the ball that was essentially 4 individual letters, the last 2 both being J, and the 6 word phrase used while he took foul shots that described his sexuality in good detail. (phrase rymes with "Tree rakes fit pin a glass")

Greg Newton-Probably my least favorite Duke player of all time the guy had no heart.

Alaa Abdelnaby-Guy was just not very good and may have been the worst whiner in the history of Duke basketball (read that sentence again because it is true)

Billy King-Just for all the heartache he has caused Sixer fans. At Duke he is best remember for his dominating defensive performance against Mark Macon in the 1988 Regional Final. He made Mark Macon cry the way he is making Sixer fans cry.

Brian in 1990 Abdelnaby had a couple of chances to win the game before it went into overtime. Laettner hit the game winner against UConn. I just remember watching Duke games then and cringing everytime he got the ball.

I would say that Meeks-Park-Newton is more of a tradition. I would leave Laettner off the list because the guy was a winner the other 3 did nothing during there Duke careers.

It is funny that I first learned of the Borges story last night from my fiancee who teaches college lit courses. She was irate because plagiarism occurs at least one time in every class she has taught and that a writer for a major paper would do that. I have to agree with her that he deserves to be fired immediately and blackballed from the mainstream media. As a published writer I have no problem with someone quoting me but credit where credit is due.

D-rays had six errors yesterday it must have been the drugs talking when I said we would finish 3rd in the east yesterday.

I think you know my credentials at this point as a Duke hater, but Battier gets a pass in my book. Dude played hard, the right way, and seemed like an okay guy. Never really antogonized fans or rubbed me the wrong way. Sure he flopped sometimes, but he didn't cry about it the same way some other Dukies do when they don't get calls.

Todd the J-Will motorcycle crack is a little harsh. I know there is probably some hard feelings for his shove at the end of the BC game back in 2001. I loved the way Battier played I was just surprised he was not on the list because of the way he played and the way the announcers always gushed about him.

@fost

That Al Gore video is hilarious. I really do not like him but that was pretty funny (wonder if Al Franken wrote the bit) I still think that Jesse Jackson's reading of Green Eggs and Ham ranks as one of the greatest moments in SNL history.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.